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Cookham is a historic Thames-side village and civil parish on the north-eastern edge of
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
, England, north-north-east of
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
and opposite the village of Bourne End. Cookham forms the southernmost and most rural part of High Wycombe urban area. With adjoining Cookham Rise and Cookham Dean, it had a combined population of 5,779 at the 2011 Census. In 2011, '' The Daily Telegraph'' deemed Cookham Britain's second richest village.


Geography

The parish includes three settlements: *Cookham Village – the centre of the original village, with a high street that has changed little over the centuries *Cookham Dean – the most rural village in the parish *Cookham Rise – the middle area that grew up round the railway station The ancient parish of Cookham covered all of
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
north of the London and Bath Road until this was severed in 1894, including the hamlets of Furze Platt and Pinkneys Green. There were several
manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...
s: Cookham, Lullebrook, Elington, Pinkneys,
Great Bradley Great Bradley is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk West Suffolk may refer to the following places in Suffolk, England: * West Suffolk (county), a county until 1974 * West Suffolk District, a local government district established in ...
, Bullocks, White Place and Cannon Court. The neighbouring communities are Maidenhead to the south, Bourne End to the north, Marlow and Bisham to the west and Taplow to the east. The River Thames flows past Cookham on its way between Marlow and Taplow. Several Thames islands belong to Cookham, such as Odney Island, Formosa Island and Sashes Island, which separates Cookham Lock from Hedsor Water. The Lulle Brook and the White Brook are tributaries of the Thames that flow through the parish. Much common land remains in the parish, such as Widbrook Common, Cookham Dean Common and Cock Marsh. Winter Hill affords views over the Thames Valley and
Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills is a chalk escarpment in England. The area, northwest of London, covers stretching from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast - across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. ...
. Cock Marsh is a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) just to the north of the village.


History

The area has been inhabited for thousands of years. There were several prehistoric burial mounds on Cock Marsh which were excavated in the 19th century and the largest stone axe ever found in Britain was one of 10,000 that has been dug up in nearby Furze Platt. The
Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
called the
Camlet Way Camlet Way was a Roman road in England which ran roughly east–west between Colchester ('' Camalodunum'') in Essex and Silchester (''Calleva Atrebatum'') in Hampshire via St Albans (''Verulamium''). Camlet Way crossed the River Thames by bri ...
is reckoned to have crossed the Thames at Sashes Island, now cut by Cookham Lock, on its way from
St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman ro ...
to
Silchester Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading. Silchester is most notable for the archaeological site and Roman town of ...
. By the 8th century there was an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
abbey in Cookham, under the patronage of the Kingdom of Mercia, and one of the later abbesses was Cynethryth, widow of King Offa of Mercia. It became the centre of a power struggle between Mercia and Wessex, with the Thames forming a boundary between the two. In 2021 archaeological excavations by a team from the University of Reading discovered the site of the abbey, adjacent to Cookham's parish church, and items associated with it, while the following year additional excavations revealed extensive ancient infrastructure suggesting a larger settlement and trading centre. Later King Alfred made Sashes Island one of his burhs to help defend against Viking invaders. There was a royal
palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
here where the Witan met in 997. It is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cocheham''. The name may be from the
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''cōc'' + ''hām'', meaning 'cook village', i.e. 'village noted for its cooks', although the first element may be derived from the Old English ''cōc(e)'' meaning 'hill'. Although the earliest stone church building may have existed from 750, the earliest identifiable part of the current
Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
parish church is the Lady Chapel, built in the late 12th century on the site of the cell of a female
anchorite In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites are ...
who lived next to the church and was paid a halfpenny a day by Henry II. In the Middle Ages, most of Cookham was owned by
Cirencester Abbey Cirencester Abbey or St Mary's Abbey, Cirencester in Gloucestershire was founded as an Augustinian monastery in 1117 on the site of an earlier church, the oldest-known Saxon church in England, which had itself been built on the site of a Roman stru ...
and the timber-framed Churchgate House was apparently the Abbot's residence when in town. The Tarry Stone – still to be seen on the boundary wall of the Dower House – marked the extent of their lands. In 1611 the estate at Cookham was the subject of the first ever
country house poem A country house poem is a poem in which the author compliments a wealthy patron or a friend through a description of his country house. Such poems were popular in early 17th-century England. The genre may be seen as a sub-set of the topographical po ...
, Emilia Lanier's "Description of Cookham", which pays tribute to her patroness,
Margaret Clifford, Countess of Cumberland Margaret Clifford (''née'' Russell), Countess of Cumberland (7 July 1560 – 24 May 1616) was an English noblewoman and maid of honor to Elizabeth I. Lady Margaret was born in Exeter, England to Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford and Margare ...
through a description of her residence as a paradise for literary women. The estate at Cookham did not belong to Margaret Clifford, but was rented for her by her brother while Clifford was undergoing a dispute with her husband. The townspeople resisted many attempts to enclose parts of the common land, including those by the Rev. Thomas Whateley in 1799, Miss Isabella Fleming in 1869, who wanted to stop nude bathing at Odney, and the Odney Estates in 1928, which wanted to enclose Odney Common. The Maidenhead and Cookham Commons Preservation Committee was formed and raised £2,738 to buy the manorial rights and the commons which were then donated to the National Trust by 1937. These included Widbrook, Cock Marsh, Winter Hill, Cookham Dean Commons, Pinkneys Green Common and Maidenhead Thicket.


Religion

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
parish church is a Grade II* Listed building containing several monuments, including a
Purbeck marble Purbeck Marble is a fossiliferous limestone found in the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula in south-east Dorset, England. It is a variety of Purbeck stone that has been quarried since at least Roman times as a decorative building stone. Geology Strat ...
table tomb with a vaulted canopy, supported by twisted columns, for Robert Peeke, clerk of the
spicery A spicery was the office in a medieval or Renaissance household responsible for spices, as well as the room in which the spices were kept. It was headed by a spicerer. The office was subordinated to the kitchen or the wardrobe, and existed as a sep ...
to Henry VI, and his wife, (died 1517); a tablet with small kneeling figures in white relief by Flaxman, to mariner Sir Isaac Pocock, uncle of dramatist
Isaac Pocock Isaac Pocock (2 March 1782 – 23 August 1835) was an English dramatist and painter of portraits and historical subjects. He wrote melodramas, farces and Light Opera, light operatic comedies, many being stage adaptations of existing novels. Of hi ...
, who drowned in the Thames in 1810; and an elaborate mural tablet with kneeling figures to Arthur Babham (died 1560), surmounted by an
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
, crowned by a shield of his arms. Cookham Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was built in 1846 and extended in 1911. It now houses the
Stanley Spencer Gallery The Stanley Spencer Gallery is an art museum in the South of England dedicated to the life and work of the artist Stanley Spencer. It was opened in 1962 and is located in the Thameside village of Cookham, Berkshire where the artist was born and ...
. The building was described as a Wesleyan chapel on a map of 1897–1899, but the label had gone by 1910–1912. This suggests that the reference to a 1911 extension is incorrect. In 1923–1925 it was simply described as a hall. It seems likely that it was closed with the construction of a new chapel at Cookham Rise in 1904.


Economy

Cookham is also home to the
Chartered Institute of Marketing The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) was founded in 1911. It has over 30,000 members, including more than 3,000 registered Chartered Marketers. CIM offers 130 study centres in 36 countries, and exam centres in 132 countries. In 1952 Prince ...
, based in Moor Hall. The John Lewis Partnership, a retailer, which runs John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, has a subsidised hotel and
conference centre A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
based at Odney for Partners and their guests. The Partnership has four other subsidised hotels, at Ambleside (
Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
),
Bala Bala may refer to: Places India *Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India * Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan * Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Romania * Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi ...
(north Wales), Brownsea Island ( Poole Harbour) and Leckford ( Hampshire).


Local government

Cookham's municipal services are provided by the
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough of Berkshire, in South East England. It is named after both the towns of Maidenhead and Windsor, the borough also covers the nearby towns of Ascot and Eton. It is home to Windsor Ca ...
and forms part of the Bisham and Cookham ward. Since May 2019 the village has two borough councillors, Mandy Brar (
Lib Dem The Liberal Democrats (commonly referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. Since the 1992 general election, with the exception of the 2015 general election, they have been the third-largest UK political ...
) and Gerry Clark ( Conservative). Cookham also has a Parish Council with 15 councillors in three wards, Cookham (2 councillors), Cookham Rise (9 councillors) and Cookham Dean (4 councillors). Since May 2019 there have been four Conservative, nine Lib Dems and two independent councillors. The Council has a part-time Parish Clerk, an Assistant Clerk and a website. The local health services are managed by the
East Berkshire East Berkshire was a county constituency in the county of Berkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. The constituency ...
PCT (
Primary Care Trust Primary care trusts (PCTs) were part of the National Health Service in England from 2001 to 2013. PCTs were largely administrative bodies, responsible for commissioning primary, community and secondary health services from providers. Until 31 May ...
) – NHS Services.


Transport

Cookham village is on the A4094 between
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
and Bourne End. The A404 from Maidenhead to High Wycombe is just to the west of Cookham Dean.
Cookham railway station Cookham railway station serves the village of Cookham, Berkshire, England. Great Western Railway trains between and serve the station on the Marlow branch line, but through services to and from London Paddington in peak hours Monday to Friday ...
, at Cookham Rise, is on the to branch line. There are two direct trains to and from
London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...
during the morning and evening rush hour. Other trains require a change at Maidenhead. An hourly bus service to Maidenhead, Bourne End and High Wycombe is provided by
Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Shires & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester. It is a subsidiary o ...
six days a week. The river Thames has a long stretch of moorings above
Cookham Bridge Cookham Bridge is a road bridge in Cookham, Berkshire, carrying the A4094 road across the River Thames in England. It is on the reach above Cookham Lock and links Cookham on the Berkshire bank with Bourne End in Buckinghamshire. Discounting ...
.


Attractions

The village as a tourist destination is a convenient base for walks along the Thames Path and across National Trust property. There is a selection of restaurants and pubs in the High Street. The
Stanley Spencer Gallery The Stanley Spencer Gallery is an art museum in the South of England dedicated to the life and work of the artist Stanley Spencer. It was opened in 1962 and is located in the Thameside village of Cookham, Berkshire where the artist was born and ...
, based in the former Methodist chapel, also has a permanent exhibition of the artist's works.


Arts and literature

* Kenneth Grahame is said to have been inspired by the River Thames at Cookham to write '' The Wind in the Willows'', as he lived at The Mount in Cookham Dean as a child and returned to the village to write the book. Quarry Wood in Bisham, adjoining, is said to have been the original Wild Wood. He later lived in Winkfield, Blewbury and Pangbourne. *The English painter
Sir Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE Royal Academy of Arts, RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if ...
was born here and most of his works depict villagers and their life in Cookham. His religious paintings usually had Cookham as a backdrop and a number of the landmarks in his canvases can still be seen in the village. Several of his works can be seen at the small
Stanley Spencer Gallery The Stanley Spencer Gallery is an art museum in the South of England dedicated to the life and work of the artist Stanley Spencer. It was opened in 1962 and is located in the Thameside village of Cookham, Berkshire where the artist was born and ...
in the centre of the village, close to where he lived. He also painted
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es in at least one of the private houses in Cookham; however, they are not open to public viewing. His ashes are buried in the churchyard in the village. *In
Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
's play ''
Hay Fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, i ...
'', retired actress Judith Bliss and her family live in Cookham. *Cookham is mentioned in
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...
's short play '' Victoria Station'' which premiered at the
Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...
with Paul Rogers and Martin Jarvis. *Actress
Jessica Brown Findlay Jessica Rose Brown Findlay (born 14 September 1987) is an English actress. She played Lady Sybil Crawley in the ITV television period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and Emelia Conan Doyle in the 2011 British comedy-drama feature film '' Albatr ...
grew up in Cookham. Her maternal family come from the area.


Historic figures

*
Simon Aleyn Simon Aleyn (or Alleyn; died 17 October 1565) was a Canon of Windsor from 1559–63 He was educated in Oxford and graduated BA 1539, MA 1542. He was appointed: *Vicar of Cookham 1553 *Vicar of Strathfieldsaye 1559 He was also Vicar of St Micha ...
(died 1565), supposed Singing Vicar of Bray *
Maidie Andrews Maidie Andrews (27 September 1893 – 13 October 1986) was an English actress and singer who, in career that spanned six decades, was a child actress and later a stage beauty who appeared in musical comedy including the original London prod ...
(1893–1986), actress and singer, lived here for some years * William Battie (died 1776), editor of ''Isocrates'' and founder of the University Scholarship at Cambridge *
Margaret Clifford, Countess of Cumberland Margaret Clifford (''née'' Russell), Countess of Cumberland (7 July 1560 – 24 May 1616) was an English noblewoman and maid of honor to Elizabeth I. Lady Margaret was born in Exeter, England to Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford and Margare ...
(1560–1616), to whom tribute paid in Emilia Lanier's 1611
country house poem A country house poem is a poem in which the author compliments a wealthy patron or a friend through a description of his country house. Such poems were popular in early 17th-century England. The genre may be seen as a sub-set of the topographical po ...
"Description of Cookham" * Henry Dodwell (1641–1711), scholar and theologian *
Benjamin Ferrers Benjamin Ferrers (–1732) was an English portrait painter. Life Christened in late 1667 in Cookham, Berkshire, Ferrers was deaf from his birth and appears to have lived in Westminster. An account record of a court case in 1720 records: He was ...
(1667–1732), deaf portraitist, whose family held the local lord of the manor of Lullebrook (or Cookham) for about 70 years *
Dorothy Hepworth Dorothy Mary Hepworth (30 September 1894 – 8 September 1978) was a British painter and the life partner of Patricia Preece. Hepworth signed Preece's name to many of Hepworth's paintings, even after Preece's death. Early life Hepworth was born ...
(1894–1978), painter and the life partner of
Patricia Preece Patricia Preece, Lady Spencer (22 January 1894 – 19 May 1966), born Ruby Vivian Preece, was an English artist, associated with the Bloomsbury Group, and the second wife of painter Stanley Spencer, for whom she modelled. It was later discovered ...
* Nathaniel Hooke (died 1763), historian * Kenneth Grahame (1859–1932), writer of '' The Wind in the Willows'', spent his childhood in Cookham and moved back after early retirement. * Timmy Mallett (born 1955), TV presenter, broadcaster and artist *
Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...
(1874–1937), wireless pioneer, lived on Whyteladyes Lane and is said to have conducted experimental transmissions from there in 1897. *
Isaac Pocock Isaac Pocock (2 March 1782 – 23 August 1835) was an English dramatist and painter of portraits and historical subjects. He wrote melodramas, farces and Light Opera, light operatic comedies, many being stage adaptations of existing novels. Of hi ...
(1782–1835), artist and dramatist buried in Cookham *
Patricia Preece Patricia Preece, Lady Spencer (22 January 1894 – 19 May 1966), born Ruby Vivian Preece, was an English artist, associated with the Bloomsbury Group, and the second wife of painter Stanley Spencer, for whom she modelled. It was later discovered ...
(1894–1966), artist associated with the
Bloomsbury Group The Bloomsbury Group—or Bloomsbury Set—was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century, including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton Strac ...
and the second wife of
Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the small ...
*
Henry Thomas Ryall Henry Thomas Ryall (August 1811 – 14 September 1867) was an English line, stipple and mixed-method engraver and later used mixed mezzotint. Ryall was appointed the royal engraver by Queen Victoria. Forty of his works are in the Nationa ...
(1811–1867), engraver * Frank Sherwin (1896–1986), railway poster artist *
Sir Stanley Spencer Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE Royal Academy of Arts, RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if ...
(1891–1959), artist, who throughout his life set many of his intense religious paintings in and around Cookham. * Ralph Thompson (1913–2009), animal artist and illustrator * Frederick Walker (1840–1875), ARA *Thomas Whateley (1787–1867), vicar and leading promoter of the principles of the new
Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...
*Admiral Sir
George Young George Young may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Young (filmmaker), Australian stage manager and film director in the silent era * George Young (rock musician) (1946–2017), Australian musician, songwriter, and record producer * Geor ...
, proposer of the settlement of New South Wales


Town twinning

Cookham is twinned with: *
Saint-Benoît, Vienne Saint-Benoît () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. It is a southern suburb of Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It ...
, a village near
Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...
, France.


Trivia

*In 2002 Cookham was at the centre of a row over the Department for Work and Pensions' description of the village's social profile as ''"somewhat spoiled by the gin and Jag brigade"''. *In 1997, 1999 and 2006 Cookham had its own radio station, Cookham Summer FM, that broadcast from
Cookham railway station Cookham railway station serves the village of Cookham, Berkshire, England. Great Western Railway trains between and serve the station on the Marlow branch line, but through services to and from London Paddington in peak hours Monday to Friday ...
's waiting room and included a large number of Cookham residents. *Cookham features as the primary location of the first ever TV episode of ''The Saint'', "The Talented Husband", including scenes shot at
Cookham railway station Cookham railway station serves the village of Cookham, Berkshire, England. Great Western Railway trains between and serve the station on the Marlow branch line, but through services to and from London Paddington in peak hours Monday to Friday ...
.


Notes


Sources

* *


External links


Cookham community website
{{authority control Villages in Berkshire Civil parishes in Berkshire Populated places on the River Thames Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead